Objective To analyze the past cervical cancer screening participation and its influencing factors among women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attending the antiviral clinic in the Yunnan region, and to understand the acceptance and preference to cervical cancer screening among this population.

Methods From January 2019 to August 2020, a continuous sampling method was employed to recruit 411 HIV-infected women at the Third People’s Hospital of Kunming city, Yunnan province’s antiviral clinic. Their awareness, participation, and acceptance of cervical cancer screening were investigated, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze factors influencing past screening participation.

Results Of the 411 HIV-infected women, 69.83% were aware of cervical cancer screening, and 39.66% had participated in screening. Multivariate analysis indicated that women aged 41 – 50 years (odds ratio (OR) = 2.768, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.278 – 5.996), with completed secondary education (OR = 2.111, 95%CI = 1.199 – 3.719) or higher education (OR = 3.056, 95%CI = 1.315 – 7.105), non-smokers (OR = 4.281, 95%CI = 1.773 – 10.338), those who had experienced postcoital bleeding (OR = 2.463, 95%CI = 1.249 – 4.859), and those who received antiretroviral therapy for ≥ 2 years (OR = 2.733, 95%CI = 1.321 – 5.654), and who were aware of cervical cancer screening (OR = 13.574, 95%CI = 6.114 – 30.136) were more likely to have participated in cervical cancer screening. However, those with a most recent CD4 count ≤ 500 cells/μL (OR = 0.463, 95%CI = 0.267 – 0.804) were less likely to have been screened. Following health education, 96.59% were willing to participate in cervical cancer screening, 93.20% would accept further examination upon recall, and 77.58% would agree to undergo treatment if necessary.

Conclusion The rates of awareness and past screening for cervical cancer among HIV-infected women attending the antiviral clinic in Yunnan are low. Factors influencing the participation of HIV-infected women in screening should be fully considered when implementing cervical cancer screening programs, as well as the inclinations of this high-risk group towards related healthcare services.